8 Unknown Facts About Manchester [Pt.2]

We hope you enjoyed our recent piece, detailing 8 things you didn’t about Manchester. Well, today we are back with part two, giving you eight more pieces of info you might not have known about our great city.

Recognised for its cultural importance, Manchester is the hometown of many iconic figures, achievements and ideas. Let’s dive in…

Manchester’s Very Own

Born in Moss Side in 1858, Emmeline Pankhurst led a life of activism, working toward a massive change for women’s rights in the UK. Emmeline grew up in a politically active family, with parents who were abolitionists and both supported the early suffrage movement.

As one of Manchester’s most determined political activists, Pankhurst organised the UK suffragette movement, founded the Women’s Social and Political Union and was essential in gaining women the right to vote.

You can find the Emmeline Pankhurst statue, dedicated to her contribution, in St Peters Square.

International Ties

A sister city is a form of legal or social agreement between two distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial experiences.

Manchester’s sister city is Wuhan, the two were linked in 1986. This relationship was made to encourage trade and investment between the UK and China. China town in the city centre underwent developed from this date on, giving the people of Wuhan an idea of how far their culture spreads and incentivising them to visit Manchester.

Unique Opportunities

Manchester has two main universities: MMU and UoM. Both run a multitude of courses from business studies to health and social care. What’s interesting is there are subjects you can study here that you can’t elsewhere. For example, The University of Manchester is the only university in the whole world where you can get a degree in ‘Mummy Studies’.

You may assume there is little to no Egyptian history in England, let alone Manchester, but you’d be wrong. At the nearby Bolton Museum, there’s an Egyptian collection comprising around 2,000 artifacts including a mummy inside a replica tomb.

Coronation Street

Manchester is the home to the world’s longest-running TV soap, Coronation Street. Originally airing on December 9th, 1960, it reached its 10,000th show on February 7, 2020, and is still airing today. You can watch new episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

On the 5th April, 2022, it was recorded that the latest episode was viewed by over 5.5 million viewers, proving its timeless and undying popularity.

The Melting Pot of Manchester

Manchester is a home to all, celebrating and embracing diversity. With a population of over 510,000, the 200 languages spoken here give Manchester the title as the most linguistically diverse city for its size in Europe!

It has also been proven that around two thirds of Mancunian schoolchildren are bilingual, highlighting how precious linguistic culture is to the citizens of Manchester.

Winner, Winner

The University of Manchester has a prosperous academic history.

Laying claim to 25 Nobel laureates among their current/former staff and students, you have to give them credit where it’s due. When comparing the number of Nobel laureates produced to other universities, UoM sits at 23rd in global rankings and 4th in the UK, behind only Cambridge, Oxford and University College London.

Morning Fuel

Kellogg’s. The company that has provided us with classic cereals such as Corn Flakes, Coco Pops, Crunchy Nut and many more. Did you know that they’ve been making some of our favourite snacks, right on our doorstep, this whole time?

Kellogg’s has been producing the majority of their goods at their Manchester factory since 1938. You’ll find the factory still running today, if you’re driving near the Trafford Centre. Remember to take in the hypnotising smell as you drive past the massive Tony The Tiger sign.

Going Down Under

In the early 19th century, the extraordinary growth of Manchester’s textile and cotton factories put it at the heart of a global network of manufacturing and trade. This led to companies mass producing materials to trade worldwide. Because of the rapid industrialisation, Manchester was given the nickname ‘Cottonopolis’.

This is why some Australian stores still call the textile department, the ‘Manchester department’. This is due to the fact that the textiles would arrive in Australia by ship and the containers/boxes all had “Manchester” written on them.

If you’re enjoying this series, you’d be pleased to hear that we make a TikTok to accompany every one of these blog pieces. These can help you visualise whatever we tell you, and give you the ability to see Manchester from within. You can follow it here. Otherwise, we wish you all the best in your endeavours and we hope to see you back here for part three…